The 10 Most Infamous Nightclubs in New York’s History

In the city that loves to sport about how little it sleeps , the nightclub has been the center of the universe since Jazz Age hipsters started desperately flock to the Cotton Club in the 1920s . From the day of all - night jazz pickle and holdover cures at the Plaza , the club scene in New York has undergo evolutions of tonic , disco , punk , rock-and-roll , enchantment , EDM and anything else that allow for a sufficiently loud musical backdrop for sex , scandal , and the occasional bust of havoc . Above all , these ten clubs mastered the art of debauchery and pull in a place in nightlife history .

The Cotton Club

Owned by an English gangster whose nickname , " The Killer " , was as intimidating as it was unsubtle , the the apex Jazz Age night club made nightly misdemeanour of the Volstead Act as exposit a spectacle as potential . Owner Madden open up the club in the heart of Harlem , establishing a sottish destination for business district bloodless folk who wanted to listen the young Jazz craze sweeping the streets above 100th . Every Nox , caravans of upper crust clients would clump to the Cotton ’s woodlet decor and old - South , white - gloved avail , ignoring ban with zest as Duke Ellington head the house band . Each dark was an out - and - out Bacchanal , with Cab Calloway , Ellington , Louis Armstrong and others soundtracking the vice department store with Song dynasty like " Reefer Blues , " " Kicking the Gong Around " ( 20 ’s slang for using opium ) , and " Kokey Joe . ”

Studio 54

At 254 West 54th Street , Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager converted a former opera house business firm into the most notorious nightclub of the disco era . Rubell ’s maxim : " The key to a good party is filling a way with guests more interesting than you ” – which have in mind Rick James , David Bowie , Andy Warhol , and hundreds of people you ’ve never get word of , but who were living very weird animation in the later seventies . Rubell always made certain that those interesting people always reelect for another party , whether that meant building a corral in the midsection of the order for equine - enthusiast Dolly Parton , plying Bianca Jagger with a flock of white Columba , or giving Warhol a steel barrel full of cash . How all of this was finance might be the best Studio 54 account of all : when the IRS shut things down in 1979 , it was because they ’d ground refuse bags of money ( and drugs ) stashed throughout the cabaret .

Max’s Kansas City

rock and roll stars and creative person treated Max ’s like their own personal livelihood elbow room . Warhol reportedly held Margaret Court in the club ’s individual back room almost every night , with substance and strip show tease always on the agenda . The famous constellate there to rock ( Bruce Springsteen famously play there in 1972 ) , work ( Debbie Harry waitress there ) , hang up out ( Tom Waits and William Burroughs were habitue ) , and … well , one time Jim Morrison apparently could n’t make it to the restroom , so he wee-wee in a wine nursing bottle all dark and then pass it to his waitress . Other write up wander from staring topsy-turvydom – Sid Vicious getting thrown in jail for attacking Patti Smith ’s sidekick – to pure , uncanny boredom : David Bowie call in meeting Iggy Pop there , draw it as “ Me , Iggy , and Lou Reed at one table with absolutely nothing to say to each other , just looking at each other ’s eye makeup . ”

CBGB

The brick Bowery construction where the neat and neat John Varvatos fund currently resides , used to be CBGB , the grungy , smelly , sweaty , on occasion scum bag - covered epicenter of underground rock . Patti Smith , The Ramones , The Talking Heads , and oodles of other avant - garde , point - smashing and crowd - punching punk act made this club – which closed in the mid - aught after give The accident one of their bad boosts . But CBGB ’s was not for the faint of heart , fight and substance - fueled fierceness were a regular occurrence , include Dee - Dee Ramone who reportedly had frequent jealous battles with his groupie girl ( see let out beer bottleful threats and smashed windshields ) . Even Emmy - award win actor Peter Dinklage has a scar to remember ( from his neck to his eye - eyebrow to be exact ) after getting kneed in the temple while rocking a bite too hard on point with his former band , “ Whizzy , ” which ironically became respectable praxis for his future onGame of Thrones .

Palladium Dance Hall

The epitome of old - school New York Latin class , Palladium Dance Hall hosted everyone from Celia Cruz , the most illustrious Cuban songstress of all metre , to Desi Arnaz to a parade of jazz great so long it would have put a New Orleans funeral to shame . From 1948 to 1966 , Palladium was home to the best suited , most unbelievably nerveless masses in the world . As told by Steven Joseph Loza , in the record book , Tito Puente and the Making of Latin Music , Sammy Davis Jr. and Jackson Pollack could regularly be found on the dance storey , while Marlon Brando could be meet on the bongos . And if that was n’t enough of a drawing card , every Wednesday night , the club hosted a competition , from pie - eating and singing challenges , to “ good legs ” competitions between its famous professional dancer and attractive clubgoers .

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Nell’s Nightclub

A reaction to the behemoth , aeroplane hangar - esque discos that had percolate the city during the seventies , Nell ’s was a malarkey , Reggae and Hip - Hop terpsichore clubhouse with a capacity of just 250 . Even the most famous personalities in the city were n’t guaranteed entranceway into the sole locus . Nell ’s is probably most notable to younger readers , though , as a even hangout ofAmerican Psycho ’s fancied character Patrick Bateman . Nell ’s was the epitome of the exclusivity - obsessed 1980s , that not even the fertile and illustrious could get into . Cher was notably denied ingress , because – as owner / namesake Nell Campbell recalled in theTimes , she did n’t have “ the correct look . ” And Nell herself accept her partying very seriously , as Michael Musto once recounted seeing her " voguing raw on top of [ one of Nell ’s ] tables . " A thoroughgoing line to the nine ’s Victorian magnanimousness decor .

Club El Morocco

Founded by Italian immigrant John Perona as a speakeasy on 52nd street in 1931 , El Morocco would become famous for its pretentious zebra print home as well as parade of the glamourous multitude ( include Marilyn Monroe ) who seek an escape from inhibition . All though this club was all about break the rules , there was a distinct order to things . Nanette Fabray , a Tony - winning Broadway leading noblewoman of the 40 ’s , recall in the Times , " Oh , it was a ritual … . One entered , and there was a hierarchy of where one sit … . You did n’t dare go unless you were perfectly turned out . " And no one could be considerably suit for the graceful glamor than Jackie O herself , who visited the club with both her hubby . However , JFK reportedly preferred the quieter Champagne Room , a secret dining domain in the back of the club .

Danceteria

A four floor nightclub , Danceteria was the multiplex of the club kid world . Rather than seeing one carrying out , one chemical group of attractive people , or one bartender doing flip - tricks from Cocktail , they could see four at once . Madonna did n’t just party there , but the first sentence she performed live was at Danceteria in 1982 , during her “ shock the world ” days . The tilt of incredible routine that also got their start here include The Cure , Depeche Mode , The Beastie Boys , and Billy Idol . Even LL Cool J work the elevator . What made Danceteria such a perfect mess was the fact that the club received after - hours runoff from every case of club imaginable , from Studio 54 to CBGB to hip record hop clubs to gay bars . That unfreeze pot of madness is the stuff fable are made of .

The Tunnel

The Tunnel might well have get down the vogue of making the most pop clubs in New York a ) in Chelsea , b ) in historic building ironically co - opted for Ne graffiti 1990s - type purposes and c ) enormous . Featuring dance cage and several private suite dissipate along its distinctive minute length , The Tunnel was a mecca for nightclub kid of all case who swamp to its strong point rooms project like Victorian libraries , S&M dungeons , and other whimsical locales , include a disjoined gay cake in the back of the burrow . In the ultimate political party move , the golf club was close down in 2001 by the strong drink authorization after year of negative tending from Mayor Rudy Giuliani as part of his " quality of life " campaign and the proprietor was conduct to Canada in 2003 .

Le Clique

Studio 54 took its disco very in earnest , Le Clique was all about the Moulin Rouge . Clowns , burlesque artist , acrobats , tough and strippers ran wild in the club , which was never locate in the same place twice , act from quad to space in Manhattan and using any fitly large venue . Strippers were dispatch throughout the club to help encourage some serious bacchanalia . Le Clique , with its Au - paint dancers and anything - go atmosphere , was a tiny slice of Ancient Rome for New Yorkers ( those who could find its latest location , of course ) . One of its most legendary party , besting even the infamous pajama party and " Lovers and Other Strangers " stem , was " The Greatest Show on Earth , " a Barnum - esque debauch featuring everything from ringleaders to trained beast to acrobat — all naked .